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Summer Strallen talks Casey Nicholaw to The Times

Winterson’s actress Summer Strallen gave her endorsement of Dreamgirls to The Sunday Times at the weekend, with the hit musical set to make its West End debut at the Savoy Theatre this evening.

It’s been a 35 year wait for the much celebrated musical to appear on the London stage, having first launched on Broadway in 1981. The Show’s Director and Choreographer, Casey Nicholaw, has previously worked on projects such as Monty Python’s Spamalot, The Book of Mormon, and Aladdin, as well as The Drowsy Chaperone, featuring Strallen:

“He would laugh at the tiniest little thing,” Summer told the newspaper. “It honestly is the best medicine in a rehearsal.”

As the show prepares for curtain up, Summer told us of her own personal excitement at the unveiling of the new show:

“I pray for the day I’m in another ‘Casey’ show that I actually get to showcase some of my not so ‘Show offy’ moves. Casey was a hoofer himself so, like me he knows and has made a career out of not taking yourself too seriously all the time. In my experience, every one of the actors feels so lucky to be there that they so busy concentrating on not messing that up so to bring laughter into the space that needs to feel as safe as possible to be as collaborative and creative as possible is certainly something I will take with me when I direct in future. I cannot wait to see Dreamgirls.”

It’s another example of a first class show opening in the West End with an experienced director at the helm. We look forward to seeing it ourselves and and seeing Nocholaw’s much admired talents in action.